Hey Folks! It’s me… Again!

I’m coming back once more to explore the depths of a genre that arguably did not begin where you all thought it did! Yeah yeah… Alright, maybe Left Hand Path, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious, Like An Ever Flowing Stream & The Red In The Sky Is Ours aren’t exactly the sound you would expect, but they were certainly a sign of something incredible that was about to happen. The birth of Melodic Death Metal!

Most of you, them, us… Would agree that Melodic Death metal really appeared in the form of Carcass’s 1993 album Heartwork. Even though some shades of what would become staples of the genre were heard before, this one would truly be the first album to be called as such. Mixing OSDM with more classic heavy metal styled riffs & melodies, our beloved genre (along with Thrash) would become for a lot of our teenage selves, a gateway into the more extreme bowels of metal’s subgenres. I would argue that it’s an almost obligatory step in the grand metalhead’s journey. Ah, how amazing it was to first taste the somewhat delicate sound of melodeath before rattling our ears with the obscenities & nonsensical wankery of grindcore, brutal tech-death, dissonant death and post metal… Rrrrright.

As you have become accustomed to by now, I will attempt to honour the genre by listing the absolute best Melodic Death metal albums to be ever released throughout the years. And I will do so starting with a few albums that are arguably not Melodic Death metal… Because I can and I did, hah! F*ck you! Along the way, you might stumble upon some strange & unorthodox choices mixing a plethora of other genres as well and that’s ok. Truly. Take it easy, don’t hyperventilate over it and just go with the flow. The main goal here is to help people who don’t know much about melodeath discover it and where it came from. I also want to push forward some less known jewels amongst highly praised landmarks of the style and sprinkle a bit of my personality along the way because that’s always fun. The albums will be ordered in years of release and there will be no other restriction or specific rules.

I hope you have a blast going through my list and that it brings you joy and a slight tingle on your nostalgia strings. Though, if it pisses you off, if I forgot your absolute favourite album of all goddamn time or if you think I’m an idiot, well… Just remember that I’m right, always and forever, thank you. Regardless It will be a pleasure for me to hear your recommendations or discuss anything related to melodeath below. Cheers & have fun!

-Guib-

Note: Albums with a 🇨🇦 are from my country (Canada) and albums with a ★ are my personal favourites.

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Last Updated: April 8th, 2024

1.Entombed - Left Hand Path

2.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

5.Carcass - Heartwork

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1.The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal

2.Between The Buried And Me - Colors

3.The Black Dahlia Murder - Everblack

4.Heaven Shall Burn - Veto

5.Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect

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This is a list of all the death metal albums I have listened to that I thought were at all worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is just a record of my own listening experience that I use for personal organization, not a definitive account of the best or all of the death metal out there; there will probably be albums or bands that are not death metal in the strictest sense. You'll find some OSDM, melodeath, tech death, death-doom, maybe a bit of deathcore, I don't know. Maybe some non-death metal albums by death metal bands that I put in here just because.

1.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

2.Death - Symbolic

3.At The Gates - With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness

4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

5.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

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Another 2010-2019 list! I guess a lot of people will hate on me for #2, but I love that album. Enjoy!

1.Møl - Jord

2.The Haunted - Unseen

3.The Moth Gatherer - A Bright Celestial Light

4.Vola - Applause Of A Distant Crowd

5.Liberteer - Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees

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Stuff that got me hooked in the course of the years, from my very first blurred memories as a toddler to the present day.
Lots of catchy tunes, some cheese, very few flowers.
Songs that had a big impact on me and influenced my taste in music.
Stuff to let it all hang out, songs for campfire sing-alongs and soundtracks to slit your wrists to.
Love at first sight listen.

This is part II of II, covering the years since 2001.

Despite of the list's personal character, suggestions are very welcome.
After all I'm old and I may just have forgotten lots of stuff that did make my day.



Great albums that didn't make it on the list as they can only be enjoyed in their entirety, rather than by picking individual songs:

Thirdmoon - Sworn Enemy: Heaven (Death, 2004)
Defleshed - Reclaim The Beat (Death/Thrash, 2005)
Tyranny - Tides Of Awakening (Funeral Doom, 2005)
Mourning Beloveth - A Murderous Circus (Doom/Death, 2005)
Rotting Christ - Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (Black, 2013)

1.Alastis - Unity

2.Diablerie - Seraphyde

3.Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia

4.Emperor - Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise

5.Hollenthon - With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell

      View entire list ››

Well, here I put my personal top with which to me have been the best albums of 2013. They are not all they are, but if they all are.

1.Ulcerate - Vermis

2.The Ocean - Pelagial

3.The Black Dahlia Murder - Everblack

4.Wormed - Exodromos

5.Rivers Of Nihil - The Conscious Seed Of Light

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Without repeating bands, not in mega particular order but roughly

1.Watain - The Wild Hunt

2.The Faceless - Autotheism

3.Behemoth - The Satanist

4.Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra

5.The Black Dahlia Murder - Everblack

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1.Persefone - Spiritual Migration

2.Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)

3.Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle

4.Leprous - Coal

5.The Ocean - Pelagial

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Hello and welcome to my first ever top albums list. While I've been listening to metal for over 15 years I've never compiled an actual year end list. The reason for this is because I feel my current favorites to be ever changing dependent on mood, season and situational. But the reason I feel it's necessary is because I want to spread the joy of music. I see many people jaded on music, well if this list is any indication music is alive and doing some amazing things. I've encountered so many lists this year and honestly can't say there's anything close to my list. Whole brilliant albums left off of list after list, but it is all opinion. Other albums held up in high regard that just made me shake my head or perplex me. Even reading many lists gets annoying do to slideshows or advertisement overload or no explanations, I've made this as easy to browse as I could. This is a celebration of the music of 2013. Doing this list was fun yet stressful for me. To me a list isn't a versus or better than. It's just a personal list, still I want to make the numbers carry weight and importance.
Enjoy, comment below and spread the word

1.In Vain - Ænigma

2.Soilwork - The Living Infinite

3.Amorphis - Circle

4.Obscure Sphinx - Void Mother

5.Haken - The Mountain

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Uldreth is good at deciding what he likes and what he does not, but is terrible at setting a definitive order at them. So all albums in this list are ordered alphabetically. All albums included are positives and the degree of their positivity is measured by stars.

1.65daysofstatic - Wild Light

2.After The Burial - Wolves Within

3.August Burns Red - Rescue & Restore

4.Bad Religion - True North

5.Barrow - Though I'm Alone

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1.Hell - Curse And Chapter

2.Necrophobic - Womb Of Lilithu

3.Onslaught - VI

4.Carcass - Surgical Steel

5.Hail Of Bullets - III: The Rommel Chronicles

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1.Amorphis - Circle

2.Orphaned Land - All Is One

3.Persefone - Spiritual Migration

4.Gorguts - Colored Sands

5.Shade Empire - Omega Arcane

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My favourite albums of 2013. (In order of preference, and only including albums I would rate 7+).

1.Deafheaven - Sunbather

2.Protest The Hero - Volition

3.TesseracT - Altered State

4.Ovid's Withering - Scryers Of The Ibis

5.Means End - The Didact

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All Studio releases including Full lengths, EPs, Collaborations and Splits.

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TOP ALBUM ARTWORKS OF 2013

1.Intronaut - Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)

2.Gris - À L'Âme Enflammée, L'Äme Constellée...

3.Shade Empire - Omega Arcane

4.Obliteration - Black Death Horizon

5.Dream Death - Somnium Excessum

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1.Hypocrisy - End Of Disclosure

2.Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Descent

3.Device - Device

4.Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies

5.Pyrithion - The Burden Of Sorrow

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